Myron Davis, 90, Photographer of iconic 'From Here to Eternity' photo; 9 Life magazine covers
Hoodoo
photo
His images graced nine Life covers; noted for war coverage
April 21, 2010
BY MAUREEN O'DONNELL Staff Reporter
http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/2181774,CST-NWS-xdavis21.article
http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/2175324,042010xdavis1.fullimage
Life photographer Myron Davis rides a burro while covering a story about
a U.S. troop train. (Time Life Pictures/Getty Images
http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/2175326,042010xdavis2.fullimage
Myron Davis took this photo in 1953 of Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr
to promote their film "From Here to Eternity."
When Chicago firefighters were finished battling the blaze that killed
90-year-old Myron Davis, they saw his modest Hyde Park apartment was
filled with thousands of meticulously filed photographs, most of them
undamaged by the flames.
The treasure trove of images came from Mr. Davis' career as a famed
photographer for Life and other magazines, where some of his
breathtaking images became historic icons.
The treasure trove of images came from Mr. Davis' career as a famed
photographer for Life and other magazines, where some of his
breathtaking images became historic icons.
Mr. Davis was a seasoned war photographer who once grabbed a weapon to
shoot at a Japanese machine-gunner firing at his landing barge in the
South Pacific. He had the guts to stand up to Gen. Douglas MacArthur,
the supreme commander of the Allied Powers in World War II.
Mr. Davis was a seasoned war photographer who once grabbed a weapon to
shoot at a Japanese machine-gunner firing at his landing barge in the
South Pacific. He had the guts to stand up to Gen. Douglas MacArthur,
the supreme commander of the Allied Powers in World War II.
And he took a picture still heralded as one of the sexiest of all time.
Mr. Davis was a Life photographer on the set of "From Here to Eternity,"
where he shot stars Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr kissing as pounding
surf enveloped them in symbolism that couldn't be missed. The movie
scene was a near-scandal when it came out in 1953, and it's still
considered one of the most romantic in film history.
It has also withstood many spoofs — including a seaweed-laden shot in
the comedy “Airplane.”
Mr. Davis, who grew up on the South Side and studied at the University
of Chicago, died Saturday at the U. of C. Medical Center from injuries
suffered in the fire at his apartment last week. Authorities said the
fire is believed to have been accidental, possibly electrical in origin.
Mr. Davis joined Life in 1941. He also did work for Advertising Age, the
Chicago Sun-Times, Collier's Weekly, Ladies' Home Journal and the
Saturday Evening Post. He eventually returned to Chicago to care for his
widowed mother.
Mr. Davis was believed to be Life's youngest war photographer, according
to his friends and family.
"His talent was for living off the land and living under combat
conditions," said famed Chicago photographer Art Shay. "He really had to
get close, and that's what combat photography is all about."
Mr. Davis did nine Life covers in all, said film historian David
Phillips, owner of a large collection of glass-plate negatives.
His memorable images covered thousands of subjects, including a photo
essay on an Iowa farm boy and his dog. But much of Mr. Davis' work was
in the Pacific Theatre, in particular in New Guinea.
"He told me on one of the landings, there was a Japanese machine-gunner
shooting," Phillips said. "Myron picked up some kind of automatic rifle
and fired in the direction of the bullets, and he said, 'You know, I
must have hit someone because the gunfire stopped.' "
Legendary photojournalist Robert Capa once stayed with Mr. Davis, and
poked fun at him for having studied ballet, according to Phillips. What
Capa didn’t know was that Mr. Davis could also box.
“Myron decked him,” Phillips said. “You didn’t mess with Myron.”
The photographers became friends. Capa liked to read in the bathtub, and
Mr. Davis took a famous shot of him doing so.
On the set of "From Here to Eternity," Mr. Davis befriended Frank
Sinatra by fixing his camera. He clicked with Kerr, but Lancaster
remained distant. But Mr. Davis won him over with his discretion.
"If they didn't feel like having their picture taken at that moment, he
didn't," Phillips said. "He built up trust. In fact, [President]
Roosevelt had someone from Life magazine that gave him trouble in the
White House and said, 'I would like to have this man replaced' -- and
they replaced him with Myron."
Mr. Davis shot the last photos of film comedienne Carole Lombard at an
Indiana war bond rally. Her plane crashed on the way back to California.
During the war, Mr. Davis set up his tent in the jungles of New Guinea,
only to wake up to the scrutiny of a local tribe with spears, Phillips
said. "He said, 'I gave each one a pack of cigarettes, and then I went
about my business, and I packed up my tent and walked away. I could have
been killed.' "
He hit it off with Gen. Dwight Eisenhower when he photographed him, but
MacArthur was another story. MacArthur wanted Mr. Davis to be his
personal photographer. But, according to Phillips, “He turned MacArthur
down-. He didn’t like MacArthur. He was asking for instructions on where
he could go shoot, and MacArthur wouldn’t answer.”
He is survived by a daughter, Mary; sons Glenn and Keith; six
grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Interment will be at
Chicago's Mount Hope Cemetery. His family will follow Mr. Davis' wish
that there be no memorial service.
--
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"Hoodoo" <hoo...@spamcop.net> wrote in message
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> MYRON DAVIS | 1919-2010: Photographer of iconic 'From Here
> to Eternity' photo
>
> His images graced nine Life covers; noted for war coverage
>
> April 21, 2010
> BY MAUREEN O'DONNELL Staff Reporter
> http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/2181774,CST-NWS-xdavis21.article
>
> http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/2175324,042010xdavis1.fullimage
> Life photographer Myron Davis rides a burro while covering
> a story about a U.S. troop train. (Time Life
> Pictures/Getty Images
>
> http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/2175326,042010xdavis2.fullimage
> Myron Davis took this photo in 1953 of Burt Lancaster and
> Deborah Kerr to promote their film "From Here to
> Eternity."
>
>
> When Chicago firefighters were finished battling the blaze
> that killed 90-year-old Myron Davis, they saw his modest
> Hyde Park apartment was filled with thousands of
> meticulously filed photographs, most of them undamaged by
> the flames.
>
> The treasure trove of images came from Mr. Davis' career
> as a famed photographer for Life and other magazines,
> where some of his breathtaking images became historic
> icons.
incredible story.